West Ham boss rules out move for Arsenal captain

Arsenal skipper Thomas Vermaelen has found himself in a difficult position ever since Per Mertesacker replaced him as Laurent Koscielny's first-choice partner at centre-back.

The Belgian has had to maintain the utmost professionalism and act as a leader and representative for the club off the pitch, while at the same time knowing that his position as captain has been rendered more or less worthless on the pitch.

Indeed, Vermaelen has made just seven appearances in the Premier League this season - with only three of them starts.

As such, it is no surprise that the 28-year-old has been linked with a move away from the Emirates Stadium. But what is a surprise is one of the clubs he has been linked to: West Ham.

And, despite playing down his chances of signing the Arsenal skipper, Hammers boss Sam Allardyce says it would be nice to add Vermaelen to his ranks!

"I don't think there's any chance we'll get someone of his quality - but it would be nice if we could,"Big Sam told reporters.

"I think under the circumstances at Arsenal, with the situation they're in, with the Champions League and cup matches, they've had to use him as soon as any of the two defenders are injured.

Tim Poole

Tim Poole is a sports journalist for HITC with a love of football, tennis and snooker in particular.His career to date has seen him speak to former Manchester United boss David Moyes, interview snooker world champion Mark Selby and be snubbed by Premier League managers and players in more than one language!He is a massive Roger Federer fan and lives by the motto that 'sport is life.' When he's not writing about it, he's playing it, be it football, tennis, basketball, badminton, table tennis, darts, snooker, golf or even water polo. He is better at some than others...